9 Simple Hacks for Increasing Your Entrance's Appeal

First impressions count. Your Airbnb guests will be arriving at your property, and the first thing they see is the entrance. Have you paid attention to your property's appeal?

by Pass The Keys

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Editorial

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14 Nov 2017

First impressions count. Your Airbnb guests will be arriving at your property, and the first thing they see is the entrance. Have you paid attention to your property's appeal? Do you need to spruce up your porch and front yard? Fret not, because, in this article, we offer a glimpse at nine simple, effective, and affordable ways to get your property's appeal up. So long as you decide on the theme and décor early on, everything else will be a breeze. Without further ado, we give you our checklist of nine simple hacks for increasing your curb appeal.

Second pair of eyes

First and foremost, get a second pair of eyes. As years go by, we as homeowners, get accustomed to the little imperfections in our exterior. The cracked pavement, untended shrubbery, the chipped paint here and there. Having a person outside our family take a critical look at the house just may point out what we’ve been failing to see the whole time.

Plants

This tip is pretty obvious, but plants give the most life to your property. You can make a low hedge with very pedantic straight lines and geometric angles, but you can also create a sort of “orderly wilderness” with field flowers and shrubbery. The choice is yours. Just keep in mind to plant flora native to your climate and don't forget that plants require maintenance.

Find your focus

Having too much décor can be overwhelming if there is no order to it. You should find your focal point, like a brightly painted door or one particular thing that will tell the eye where to look first, and build from there. The main decorative piece should set the tone for how the rest of your front yard will be designed. Get creative.

House numbers

Believe it or not, even the way your house numbers are displayed can significantly add to your home's appeal. It can match the design of your porch, or contrast it, to make the number more visible. Some decide to paint them onto the front porch staircase, for example, one number per step, which gives off an original, quirky vibe. There are numerous DIY tips and tricks to crafting your house numbers, so long as you’re not bound by any regulations that could limit your creativity.

Roof

The roof is perhaps the part of the house we pay the least attention to. Start by walking around your house to inspect the gutters – they tend to rust over and waste away from the weather conditions. Chances are, they’ll need a coat of waterproof lacquer, or even paint if it adds to the house’s appeal. While trees are great, you might want to consider trimming them down if overhead branches are increasing the risk of collapse or just cause a heap of leaves to collect on it during fall.

Lighting

Everyone loves a well-lit porch at night. What you can do, is play with the notion of lighting your front yard or curb, by strategically placing the lights that illuminate the most appealing parts of your yard at night.

Shutters

Beautiful shutters can improve your curb appeal by a lot. There are numerous designs available, depending on your preferences. You can go with minimalist, modern shutters made of sturdy materials with bold, solid colours. Or, you can try the more country style through a pair of basswood shutters.

Quirky mailboxes

Given that there are no regulatory obligations to keep your letterbox to a certain strict standard, you can get creative with the design. Just giving it a splash of colour would be enough to set your house apart from the others. You can also go very minimalist and geometric, which can draw attention to the house just as much.

Use your garage

More often than not, our garages turn into storage places. We gradually build up enough clutter to permanently evict our cars, leaving the only option of parking out front. Not only is this impractical, supporting our bad cluttering habits, but also dampens the property's appeal. Start using your garage for its intended purpose, and additionally, replace the garage door for a matted transparent one, so the inside light gives an airy, translucent feel when observed from the other side. Freeing up your driveway will allow you to add some more décor, and will look more spacious.

In the end

When it comes to increasing property's appeal, look at quick wins to get you started! Start working with what you have and add a few items such as paint, shutters or plants set the mood.

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